The Duality of Love
by Landlady of the Universe
Summary: She was living a past that he had left behind. Who would have thought that they would fall in love? SessKag DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue

LL: I know, I know. I haven't finished 'Promises' yet, but I had this idea about Kagome having a relationship with Sesshy in her time while still gathering shards in the past.  And well, I was kind of in the mood for some smut … so, I started this a little while ago.

B0b: Heaven help us.

LL: *thwacks B0b* Yes, well anyway, this is also sort of my apology for making all my wonderful reviewers of 'Promises' wait so long for the latest chappy. So enjoy! I'm still toying around with the idea though, and I really don't have a plot or at least a conflict yet, so any help would really be appreciated.  Thanks much!

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha belongs to Takahashi-sama, not me. I just play with them. *quietly draws a curtain across a room where Sesshy is tied up and gagged* =P

The Duality of Love

Prologue

Five hundred years.  He had lived too long in this world of humans.  Existing among them, as one of them, working with them.  Five hundred years ago, he would have never sat down to talk with a human for whatever reason.  Five hundred years ago, he would have never been in bed with one.

He had been the infamous Lord of the Western Lands.  Feared.  Despised.  Every one in the world had known who he was, had trembled at his name.  That was before he discovered that there was a world beyond Nihon and China.  That was before the Portuguese and later on the Americans.  That was before the rise of Christianity and their one God.  That was before the revolution of technology, the rise of knowledge, the Communist experiments, and the information age.  That was before the discovery of space and walking on the moon.

That was before he met her.  Again.

The woman in question stirred beside him, murmuring softly in her sleep.  He slipped his arms around her, enjoying the feel of her soft, bare skin against his hands, one his and one borrowed, but they both relayed the delicious sensations the same.  He nuzzled her dark hair, breathing in the scent of his lover, mixed with that of his and their recent lovemaking.

She mumbled something that he didn't bother to decipher, and wriggled around until she was facing him.  Her blue-gray eyes slit open for a moment as she slid her arms around his neck.  Leaning forward, she pressed her lips to his forehead, where his crescent moon used to be.  It, like the rest of his demon stripes, had faded until they disappeared all together.  His tail had also shrunk away gradually over the years, responding to his need to blend in with the rapidly growing human population.  He still missed it at times, but once he had regained his sense of balance, the missing appendage hadn't really bothered him.  After all, it was these changes that had allowed him to survive when many other demons had been slaughtered by the humans who had rapidly grown in power.

With a contented sigh, she snuggled back into his embrace, falling back asleep.  Through with his musings, he rested his chin on her head, and joined her in dreamland.

***

Kagome woke with a start as the alarm went off suddenly, and was just as suddenly silenced with a crash.  She rolled over onto her back with a groan, flinging one arm over her eyes.  "Please tell me that you didn't just break the alarm clock.  I just bought that one two days ago."

A warm body joined her once more, molding to her side, and flinging one arm across her chest possessively.  "With my money," a sleepy deep voice corrected her, "Besides, you should know better than to keep buying them.  I hate those things."

Kagome peeked out from under her arm at the silver head that was buried into her chest.  With an exaggerated sigh, she brought her hand down to run her fingers through his silky hair.  "I know you.  If I don't set the alarm, you won't wake me up to go to school.  And speaking of which, I have to get up so I can get ready."

His arm tightened around her, preventing any movement on her part.  "Call in sick," he mumbled, his lips ticking her breast delightfully.

"I always call in sick," Kagome reminded her rather frustrating lover, pushing at his head, which had attached itself to her chest.  She gasped when he ran his tongue over her sensitive nipple.  "Sesshou!" she whined, desperately trying not to give into the temptation he so readily provided.  "If I don't make it to school on time, then Mom isn't going to let me spend the night here anymore!"  Her lover's head rose just enough for his yellow-gold eyes to glare at her.  She held up her hands in defense, "It's the truth!  She made me swear that I would make it to school on time every day that I'm here, don't you remember?"

He grunted in ascent, burying her head in her chest for one long moment before finally releasing her.  Gracefully, he rose and slipped on a yukata before giving her a hand up.  She caught his arm before he could turn away from her, and forced her lips on his.  With a growl, he flung his arms around her, pulling her close, and deepened the kiss.

When he finally released her, Kagome was gasping for breath.  She pecked him on the lips once more with a whispered "thank you" and bounded off to get dressed.  When she returned, her lover was already going over some paper work at the table in the sitting room, still dressed in his robe.  Their breakfast was waiting.  Kagome hugged her lover around the shoulders, toying with his hair absently as she tried to see what he was reading.  After a moment, he took the hint, and set down his work.

Grabbing her hand, he led her around the chair and pulled her down into his lap.  She yelped at the unexpected motion, but settled into his embrace easily.  "I'll come by after school before I leave ok?" she said softly.

"Mmm, don't bother," her lover said as he nuzzled her hair.  He must have sensed her hurt, for he quickly added, "I might be tempted to kidnap you and never let you go again."  She chuckled, and shoved him playfully.  "Seriously though, I have a meeting this afternoon, and a social function tonight."

"Oh, you poor thing," Kagome said, ruffling her lover's hair, "You have to endure a party all by yourself.  Do you want me to stay and go with you?"

He appeared to consider the offer for a moment, but eventually shook his head.  "No.  You told the hanyou that you would be back today, and the last thing I need is Inu-Yasha interrupting the party."

Kagome groaned, burying her head in her lover's shoulder.  She could just picture Inu-Yasha kidnapping her in the middle of a high-class party.  "You have a point."

"You should go," her lover reminded her.

"Hmm?"

"School?  You don't want to be late do you?" he asked, amused.

Kagome sat up, "Shit."  She rubbed her eyes sleepily.  Her lover picked her up and stood, setting her on her feet.  She slipped her arms around his waist, even as he bent over to grab her backpack from where she'd left it on the chair.

"Arms," he ordered, slipping the straps of her backpack onto her shoulders when she gave them to him.  Turning her around, he led her to the private elevator that led down to the ground.  "I'll call for the car.  Take it, ok?"

"There's no need…" Kagome began, but she was cut off quickly.

"Just take it.  I'll feel better."  The woman sighed and nodded her agreement.

She flung her arms around her lover, squeezing him desperately.  "Love you," she whispered, not expecting a reply.  She wasn't disappointed, he smoothed a gentle hand over her hair before shoving her lightly into the elevator.  Kagome sighed and leaned against the wall as the contraption made its way downward.  It was going to be a long two weeks.

***

I know what you're thinking, Rin-Chan.  What's going on with me and Sesshou, or rather, Sesshoumaru, as we know him?  I know I haven't had much time to write lately, what with school and everything else.

Kami, has it really only been three weeks since I met him here?

He's not the same person you understand.  Then again, I suppose that five hundred years will change anyone.  Would you believe that he actually apologized to me for trying to kill me the first time we met?  I know, I nearly fell of my chair when he did, and I would have laughed at the look on his face if I hadn't been absolutely sure that he was serious.  I could tell that he actually felt bad about it, and that was the weirdest part…

Kagome glanced up at the digital clock on her desk for a moment.  She had about twenty minutes before she had to return through the well.  Or rather, ten minutes before Inu-Yasha burst through her window demanding that she return.  A smile graced her lips as she envisioned the irritated hanyou in all his arrogant glory standing there yelling at her.

Rising, Kagome opened the window.  Inu-Yasha wasn't very well acquainted with the idea of glass windows.

She grinned again, surprising herself.  In the past, Inu-Yasha's attitudes would have infuriated her.  But Sesshou had taught her patience and given her something else to think about when her patience reached its limits.  She had stopped worrying about petty things and learned to focus on the big picture.  With Sesshou's help, she had grown up.

Kagome's eyes flicked to the phone.  She could call him for one last goodbye before she left.  But no, he was working, and no matter how much she wanted to hear his voice she couldn't disturb him.  With a small sigh, she gave up on that hope.  It wasn't like it would be years before she saw him again, only a few short weeks.  And in the meantime she would have Shippou and Inu-Yasha and shard hunting to keep her busy.

So instead, she turned back to her diary entry, trying to finish it before Inu-Yasha arrived.

I guess since I'm so far behind, Rin-Chan, I'll start by describing Sesshou as he is now.  He looks much the same as he did, but in a way, you have to look very close to see the similarities.  After all, going from feudal dress gear to a business suit is a big jump.  His demon marks are gone and so is his tail.  When I asked him about it, he said something about blending in but didn't seem to be to keen on talking about it, so I didn't press him any further.  I don't really mind the change though; it just serves to remind me that he is a wholly different person.  His silver hair and golden eyes are still there though.  He wears colored contacts in public to hide his eyes, but hasn't done anything to his hair.

And guess what he does!  Sesshou is the CEO of Nippon Electronics.  Surprised?  I was, even though I shouldn't have been.  It's just like Sesshoumaru to seek out the position of most power in today's society.  Then again, when I found out, I was still trying to get over the fact that he was here … but I'll get into that another time.

Well, that's all for now, Rin-Chan, I can hear Inu-Yasha yelling at me from the yard and I must go.  See you in two weeks! ~Kagome

In case I didn't make it clear, Rin-Chan is the name of Kagome's diary, seeing as all good diary's have names you know. ^_~  Please review, I'd really like to know what you think!


	2. Living His Past

LL: *bouncing* Before I say anything else, I really want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews.  I know that it's been forever since I have worked on this, but it took me a while to figure out an actual conflict and how to go about it.  If it wasn't for Emcron, I probably still would be trying to figure out what to do.  And plus, I got really stuck on Promises and that's what got me to finish this chapter.

Muses explain all:

B0b: How did we get sucked into this again?

LL: Because it's all your fault that this is so confusing.

J0rge: *sniffles cutely* Mine too?

LL: *thinks* Nah.  You're too cute to blame.

J0rge: Well, that's ok then.

Background details (i.e. Important stuff) – Duality starts nearly three years after Kagome first fell through the well, so she is almost 18 (three months 'til her b-day to be exact).  The story itself is going to take place more in the present than the past, except for a few scenes in the Sengoku era.

The diary's name: We wanted to give it a name, and thought that it'd be cute for it to be named Rin-Chan, but we forgot that Kagome doesn't really have any clue to who she is.  So, for continuities sake, we'll say that Sesshy told Kagome about Rin and she changed the name of her diary after that.

Anything that we haven't answered will be revealed in due time, so you'll just have to wait and see. ^__^

*

Matsuda – a daimyo family that ruled the Bizen province in western Japan for the earlier half of the 16th century

Shinzui - mystery

Kyousei – compulsion/coercion

Jikogiman – self-deception

*

Disclaimer: See Prologue, I'm tired of finding creative ways to repeat myself.

Chapter 1: Living His Past

Sesshoumaru hated parties, or social functions or whatever they were called these days.  He hated them with a passion.  Though in all honesty, it hadn't always been so.  The demon had formerly thought them merely frivolous wastes of time until that incident in the royal court in the eighteenth century, but he didn't want to think about that.  The point was that he hated parties.

But Sesshoumaru wasn't a corporate CEO for nothing.  And a few antisocial tendencies were not going to force him from his penthouse apartment and having practically everyone jump at a mere flick of his fingers.  It reminded him of days of old, almost better days.  Almost, because he hadn't had Kagome back then.

Kagome, she would be back in the feudal era by now.  Knowing the dangers of those times, he would have worried about her.  But then, he had lived past where she was now and he knew that she would survive.  What he really worried about was how the events that were to unfold would affect them.  Ruthlessly, he pushed away an image of Kagome's frightened face that had imprinted itself on his mind.  At the time it hadn't bothered him, but now he understood why she had been so scared.

"Matsuda Shinzui-san?" a voice asked from behind him.

Sesshoumaru turned, feigning interest in the guest behind him.  "Yes.  And you are?"

"Kyousei."  Sesshoumaru took careful note of the lack of a second name.  For a moment, he said nothing as he sized up the man before him.  Kyousei looked to be an average Japanese man in his late thirties.  His suit was crisp, his black hair slicked back neatly, all in all what he would expect from anyone he met at one of these functions.  Why then did he get the feeling that this man was not typical at all, but another demon in disguise?

"Pleasure to meet you," Sesshoumaru said finally.  Outwardly, he seemed to be perfectly calm and perhaps a touch bored.  Inwardly, however, his mind was racing.  Was it truly possible for this Kyousei to be another demon?  In five hundred years he had met precious few.  Still, he reminded himself, not all of them would be friendly.  "I'm afraid that your name is unfamiliar to me."

Kyousei smiled slightly.  "It would be.  I am Yamada Jikogiman's assistant.  He wasn't able to make it and asked me to attend in his stead."  Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.  Yamada Jikogiman was the CEO of his rival company, which had quickly risen from a company no one had heard of, to an extremely popular on within the last few months.  But the former demon lord knew better than to say anything derisive.

"I see.  I hope that Yamada-san is well," Sesshoumaru commented instead, remembering a rumor he'd heard of the CEO collapsing at a meeting.

Kyousei waved a hand in dismissal.  "He works too hard sometimes, but with a little rest, Yamada-san should be back to normal."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sesshoumaru said, though the reality was quite the opposite.  Searching the ballroom, the former demon looked for a way out of this conversation.  Seeing one, he said, "Please excuse me, I see some guests that I have not yet greeted."  With a curt bow, he strode away, resolving to have his people look into the matter of Yamada Jikogiman and Kyousei.

***

"Take me home," Kyousei ordered his driver as soon as he entered his limo.  His mind wasn't really on the order, however, and he hardly noticed when the car pulled away.  Rather, his mind kept replaying the conversation between himself and the unusual Matsuda-san.  Every tiny detail he analyzed, until he had memorized every scent, every movement, and come to a conclusion.

Leaning back in his seat, Kyousei idly watched Tokyo whiz past as he reconstructed the pieces of a long forgotten puzzle.  "So," he said softly with a small grin.  "So, this is where you've gotten to, Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands."

***

"Sit!!!"  Within an instant, Inu-Yasha found himself planted face first into the ground.  _Oww…_

"What the hell did I do **this** time!" the hanyou screamed as he sprung up.

Kagome sniffed as she picked up a book that Inu-Yasha had been holding.  "As if you have to ask that.  Next time you want some ramen, **ask**, don't go digging through my stuff."  She spun on one heel, and carefully stowed the book away in her bag, and pulled out a carton of ramen, tossing it to Inu-Yasha.

Miroku chuckled from the sidelines, "She'll teach you manners yet, Inu-Yasha."

"You should talk," Sango muttered under her breath as she prepared a fire.

Inu-Yasha didn't notice; his entire attention was fixed on Kagome, who was very calmly repacking her bag.  She seemed different of late.  Over the past few months he had noticed a steady change in her attitudes, but he still had yet to figure out why.  Once or twice, he had thought of asking her what was going on, but for his life, he honestly couldn't pinpoint the change.  All he really knew was that the 'sits' came less often, and she would just as soon ignore him than start yelling back.  And of course, she didn't dote on him any more.

It was funny, but that was what he missed the most.  It was almost like her attitude was more of a thinly veiled tolerance than anything.  But perhaps he only really felt that way because of the drastic change in the way that she acted towards him.  She was still friendly after all; it was in Kagome's nature to be friendly to everyone.  And now, Inu-Yasha was just that, just the same as everyone else in Kagome's eyes.

And while the hanyou was disturbed by the change, he was admittedly a touch relieved as well.  As much as he wanted to, Inu-Yasha simply did not love Kagome; he never had.  Were it possible, it would have been nice, but the schoolgirl's resemblance to Kikyo had always bothered him.  Their – his and Kikyo's – love had not survived through Naraku's deception, and though he often acted otherwise, he was not in love with the undead priestess either.

Lazily, the hanyou watched Kagome prepare some food for the group while he pondered his situation.  Three months ago, Kagome was head over heels for him, he had still been fooling himself into believing that he loved Kikyo, while not quite relinquishing any claim on Kagome, and Kikyo wanted to drag him down to hell with her.  Now, Kagome had undergone some mysterious unknown change and no longer loved him – either that or she was hiding it **really** well – he was fairly sure that he loved neither Kagome nor Kikyo, but he still held protective feelings towards both of them, and Kikyo … Kikyo still wanted to drag him to hell with her.  Was it possible that his love life had become more complicated with Kagome's sudden disinterest in him?  At least before, he had been pretty sure where everyone stood.  Next thing he knew, Kikyo was going to pronounce her undying love for his brother or something!

"Inu-Yasha!"  The hanyou looked up into the face of an annoyed Kagome, and for a moment thought that everything had returned to 'normal'.  Then she shoved a bowl of ramen towards him, and he realized that he had spaced out.  With a slight blush, he took the ramen and began scarfing it down to cover for his momentary lapse.  Kagome backed off a little bit and sat down, joining the others in a more sedate pace.  "Are you all right Inu-Yasha?" she asked after a moment.

He looked up and answered in the surliest tone he could muster, "Sure.  Why?"

Instead of blowing up like he'd half-hoped, she merely sighed, "No reason."  After a moment, she added, "You do know that I have to go home in a week right?"

Still stunned by her utter lack of anger, Inu-Yasha automatically replied, "Ok."  When Kagome grinned widely, the hanyou realized that she'd intended to trick him into agreeing the whole time.

"Then it's settled, we'll set back tomorrow," she said triumphantly.  Beside her, Miroku snickered behind his hand.

If only it were that simple.

***

Three more days, Rin-Chan!  Only three more days until I'm back with Sesshou.  Granted, I have a few tests to study for, but Sesshou's a great help with that.  In fact, that was how I met him in my time: studying.  Go figure.

It was a really nice day, and as Murphy would have it, I had a huge science test the next morning.  And if there is anything that I hate worse than math, it's Physics.  But my mom, being the absolute divine figure that she is, suggested that I take my book and go study in a local park.  Naturally I had no arguments.  And so, I found myself face to face with a pair of golden eyes that I hadn't expected to see in the modern day…

Mumbling a few choice adjectives that Kagome felt described her Physics class rather well, the girl looked up from the book and stared up at the sky.  It was a perfect blue and cloudless, almost reminding her of the sky back in the feudal era.  For once, she would have rather been there listening to Inu-Yasha bitch than here studying for her test.  But then again, she knew that it was really no miracle that had got her through almost two and a half years of school.  It had been hard work and a great deal of dedication to her schoolwork.  With a sigh, she turned back to the book, trying to solve a difficult problem that she'd been working on for a while.

After another ten minutes without success, Kagome sighed, and pressed her palms to her eyes, trying to still the headache that she could feel coming on.  "I hate Physics," she grumbled to herself.

"Come now, it's not that bad."

Kagome looked up instantly.  She recognized that voice.  Granted, it sounded a touch different, but she knew the voice.  And there was no way in hell that he could be in this time.  Turning slightly, she saw a man dressed in modern clothes leaning slightly over her, seemingly intent on her book.  Not wanting to jump to conclusions – or perhaps she was just in denial – Kagome took the time to look him over.  If the hair and eyes weren't big enough clues, the facial expression, and the way that he carried himself left her no doubt as to who he was.  She began to scream, but before she could do more than squeak, a clawed hand clapped over her mouth.  "Let's not make a fuss," Sesshoumaru said mildly.

Despite the demon's gentle tone, Kagome was still panicking.  She had deliberately chosen a secluded section of the park that was mostly obscured by trees and bushes so she could avoid any distractions (like the swings).  Unfortunately, she was now very aware that whatever Sesshoumaru decided to do to her, no one would be able to see, and thus, attempt to help.  That of course didn't mean that she was going to give up.  Struggling violently, Kagome managed to get her teeth around a clawed finger and bit down hard, drawing blood.

Sesshoumaru cursed, instinctively drawing away, and then just as quickly grabbing for Kagome again.  The scuffled for a moment, but it didn't take long for the demon to gain the upper hand and pin her to the ground deftly.  His golden eyes flashed, not with malice, but with something akin to excitement.  Quite frankly, it scared Kagome shitless, but for a moment, her treacherous mind found something else to dwell on.  This close, she could see that the demon marks on his face were truly gone and not concealed as she had previously thought.  Was it possible that this Sesshoumaru was not the one that she knew?  If so, then who was he?  A reincarnation perhaps?

"Sesshoumaru?" she asked hesitantly.

A hint of a smile washed over his features, "So, you do recognize me.  I am sorry if I startled you, but please believe me when I say that I have no intention of harming you."

Kagome blinked.  Did he just apologize for something?  "That would be a lot easier to believe if you would let me up," she suggested coyly.  He searched her face for a moment before carefully rising and helping her to her feet.  A now extremely confused Kagome brushed herself off with a mumbled thanks.

"So how is it that you came to be here, umm … I don't believe that I ever learned your name," he asked once Kagome had sort of recovered.

She laughed, suddenly stuck by the absurdity of Sesshoumaru – the Lord of the Western Lands – being polite to her.  "Well, that's easy enough to fix.  My name is Kagome.  Higurashi Kagome."  Half joking, she held out a hand.

"Matsuda Shinzui, formerly Sesshoumaru," he replied, taking her hand, but instead of shaking it, he kissed it with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Kagome was floored.  "**The** Matsuda Shinzui?"

"Yes."

"You're rich!" the girl exclaimed before she could help herself.  Then she frowned, "But how?  Do all demons live this long?"

"Of course I am," Sesshoumaru replied haughtily, ignoring the latter half of her statement.  "But you still haven't answered my question."

The girl blinked again, still trying to get over the fact that the demon who had tried to kill her more than once was one of the most successful businessmen in her time.  "Oh.  Yea.  I was born here.  There's a well on my family's shire that allows me to travel back and I come here to … Oh shit!  I still have to study!"  She turned back to her textbook, which stared innocently up at her from its place in the grass.  In the excitement, she had forgotten about her test.  "I hate you," she told the book as if it were all its fault.  Behind her, Sesshoumaru chuckled.

"It's not that hard," he told her.  "If you would like me to, I can show you what you are doing wrong."

Kagome turned, her book clutched to her chest, and eyed him suspiciously.  "What's the catch?"

He grinned, baring his fangs.  "Let me treat you to lunch."

"All right," Kagome said finally, "But if I fail my test, then I'm going to make you wish that you had never been spawned."

As it turned out, Rin-Chan, he actually knew what he was talking about, and believe it or not, I made an A.  The best part of all was the look on my Physics teacher's face when he gave me back the test.

Under most circumstances, I would have said that going anywhere with an enemy would have been a really stupid idea.  But if you could have seen the look in Sesshou's eyes, then you would have understood why I chose to go with him.  As I've said, my Sesshou is a completely different person from the cruel Western Lord that I know here, and more than anything, his eyes showed that on that day.  It took me forever to get used to the changes, but I'll have to save that for another day, since Inu-Yasha is glaring at me.  I think he's hungry … again.  I swear, the boy's got a black hole in his stomach.

Ja ne!

That's it for now, hope you like it!  Oh, and since I promised to plug Emcron about three months ago, go read his fic, The Price of Vengance, it's really good!


	3. Just Another Battle

Hello all!  I would have uploaded this yesterday, but I couldn't get onto FFN.  *grrr*  Thanks for all your reviews!!!

Muses corner:

Kagome is not going to have a kid in this fic!  They have contraceptives in modern times after all. ^_~

Why didn't Inu smell Sesshy on Kagome – she's taking extra care to prevent that from happening, at least for the moment. *grin*

Disclaimer: Yup.  They're mine.  I traded for some shares in the Universe and some little planet called Earth…

Chapter 2: Just Another Battle

Inu-Yasha was sulking, though he would never admit it.  Not that the others could get close enough to ask him.  He swaggered some distance ahead of the rest of the group, childishly ignoring them as they journeyed towards Kaede's village and the well.

Kagome on the other hand, rode along humming happily, completely ignoring the dark looks that Inu-Yasha shot her every once in a while.  Shippou sat in the basket on her handlebars, apparently fast asleep.  Miroku and Sango followed closely behind, occasionally making conversation with Kagome.

After his latest attempts to get a reaction out of Kagome failed, the hanyou huffed and trounced off.  "He's such a baby," Kagome mourned, rubbing her temple.

"Don't run off too far," Miroku called out to the hanyou's retreating form, already enjoying the fact that he was mostly on his own with two beautiful women for company.  Sango smacked him.

"Quit thinking aloud!" she yelled.  Kagome chuckled as she continued to pedal.  They were really so cute together, if only they could get over their differences (namely Miroku's pervertedness, and, well, Sango's shyness too).  Though they were caught up in their normal drama, none of them were surprised to see that Inu-Yasha had disappeared.

The accompanying yell was something of a shock though.

***

Sesshoumaru glared at his phone, silently willing it to ring.  Kagome was supposed to be coming home today, and though he would never admit it, he was really looking forward to seeing her.  These last two weeks had been hell.  Granted, they usually were, but with the discovery of Kyousei, they had been worse then usual.

And if that damn phone didn't ring soon, he was going to chunk it out the window.

Maybe it would hit someone really annoying when it reached the ground.  Maybe his vice-president, or that bitch who was constantly trying to get into his bed, and his pocketbook.  It was right about the time that she came to annoy him … every single day.  And after falling forty-five floors, the disgusting contraption would be deadly.

Sesshoumaru grinned.

"Damn, Sesshoumaru, that look could kill small animals."

The demon sighed and turned to face the young man who had just entered his office.  Kitsunes, he was surrounded by them.  Why, of all the different types of demons, did kitsunes have to be the most adaptable?  And this one was particularly annoying.  He glared at the whelp, "I told you not to call me that.  What do you have for me?"

The brat took a seat without being told, and sighed.  "Not much.  Kyousei is definitely a demon though.  But I couldn't get in to talk to Jikogiman no matter what.  Apparently he is deathly ill," the boy snorted, they had all used that excuse at one point or another.  Tilting his head back to stare at the ceiling, the boy sighed.  "It's odd, but I got the feeling that Kyousei is the real power behind the company, and this Yamada is just a front.  He might not even be real."

"I doubt that.  Kyousei has to have someone to parade in front of the rest of the world.  Keep up your surveillance for now."  With that, he dismissed the boy with a wave.

"Sure thing, boss.  Oh, and have fun with Kagome."  Before Sesshoumaru could retort, the brat was gone.

Sesshoumaru sighed.  Kitsunes.

***

Kagome exchanged a glance with Miroku and Sango, and suddenly they were off running in the direction of Inu-Yasha's yell.  Within moments, they were face to face with the ugliest demon that Kagome had ever seen.

Except not.

Kagome blinked, peering at the demon who had a hand wrapped around Inu-Yasha's neck.  One minute, he was a disgustingly ugly demon thing, the next, he had morphed into a rather handsome young man, who looked almost human.  He kept switching back and forth, making Kagome queasy.  Risking at glance at the others, she was surprised to realize that they were unaffected.

"Sango-chan," she whispered urgently, "What does he look like to you?"

Her friend looked at her oddly, but didn't argue, they didn't have time anyway.  "He looks like a young man, Kagome-chan."  Inu-Yasha yelled suddenly, drawing their attention.  The demon had tightened his grip threatening to break the hanyou's neck.

Kagome didn't stop to think, pulling back an arrow, she concentrated her power into it and loosed.

The demon flicked it away without blinking.  But he did release Inu-Yasha, who toppled to the ground with a sickening thud.  Kagome's eyes narrowed; it made sense now.  That ugly thing was the demon's true form, but she was the only one who could see it.

Drawing another arrow, Kagome concentrated on the ugly image.  She would have to be careful, not too many could brush away one of her enchanted arrows as though they were nothing more than a fly.  With a glare, she pushed her power into the arrow until the tip glowed, and fired.  When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a rather mangled form that only vaguely resembled the demon they had just fought.

With a triumphant smirk, Kagome sauntered over to Inu-Yasha and helped him stand.  "Are you all right?"  The hanyou's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to form words.  "That's good," Kagome said cheerily as she hopped over the demon's body and scooped up Shippou before heading towards her bike.  Halfway there, she realized that her companions hadn't moved, still frozen in shock from what had happened.  "Come on," Kagome said, "I've got to get home, remember?"

***

Hey Rin-Chan!

Killed a demon today.  All by myself.

I suppose I should feel proud, or freaked, or something, but, I dunno, it was kinda weird really.  One minute he was alive, and the next he was dead.  I'll never be Inu-Yasha, or Sesshou, and look forward to battle, but it felt kinda nice, actually protecting myself for once.

Besides, the look on Inu-Yasha's face was priceless.  **I** actually saved **his** butt for once.

I'm not really sure how I did it though, so I doubt that there'll be any repeat performances any time soon.  The demon was killing Inu-Yasha, and I got mad, and the next thing I knew, he was dead.  Since I can't keep any secrets from you, Rin-Chan, I'll admit that I'm a little worried.  I've never done anything that powerful before, and I don't know what it means.  But there's no sense in worrying about it, I suppose, and I can ask Kaede about it when I go back in a few days.

So back to Sesshou.  I've already told you how we met, so I suppose I should explain a bit about how he came to be here in the first place, since naturally that was the first thing I asked him.  And then he launched into the whole history of the demon race, from the feudal era on.  Granted, he is way more interesting than my history teacher (cuter too).

The way I understood things is that as the years passed, the human population continued to grow, while the demon population remained more or less the same.  Demons don't give birth as easily as humans, so they have less children.  And though the humans didn't grow physically stronger, their intelligence helped out a lot, not to mention the guns that the Europeans brought over.  It took a while, but eventually, the human population took the upper hand, and began to exterminate as many demons as they could.  The only way to survive was to blend in and pretend to be human.

Sesshou told me that he's masquerading as a human for almost four hundred years.  I can just imagine the look on the old Sesshoumaru's face when he found out.  But on the plus side, all the human influence has rubbed off on him, and he's a lot nicer now.

"Kagome-chan, are you coming to bed?  It's late and you have a test in the morning."

The girl looked over her shoulder to find Sesshoumaru standing behind her.  Following his gaze, she gasped, "Are you reading my diary!?"

The demon leaned down and nipped her ear.  "Yes."  She snapped the book shut and hit him with it, pouting.  Sesshoumaru chuckled slightly, dropping a light kiss on her lips, before turning serious.  "You're all right aren't you?"

"Fine," Kagome answered absently.  When the demon frowned at her, she smiled.  "I'm fine, not even a scratch."

Sesshoumaru quirked an eyebrow at her.  "I don't believe you.  I think that I need to give you a full inspection."

Kagome laughed.  "Fine, hop in bed, you horny bastard.  I'll be right there."  Sesshoumaru pouted, and she pushed him in the direction of the bed.  "Two seconds, I'll be right there."

I'll continue with how Sesshou got the business tomorrow, Rin-Chan.  I'm off to bed!

Night!

I know, I know, it was a short update for such a long wait.  But I did finally figure out exactly where I'm going with this, and I've got some really evil ideas.  Good!  I mean, really good ideas.

Anyway, I want to know if you want me to write a few more chappys for Duality before I start on Broken, or do you want me to go ahead and work on Broken, which will delay the next chapter of Duality a bit, especially since I've got a whole bunch of tests coming up.  So vote and let me know.

Oh yea, and if you want to be notified when I update, send an e-mail to ellycian-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or if that doesn't work, you can e-mail me at mauriemulo1308@yahoo.com.


	4. A Friendly Face

J0rge: Where's LL?  She's supposed to be doing the A/N.

*Sesshy and Miroku are playing video games*

Sesshy: I ate her.  Dammit!

Miroku: *grin* Take that! *to J0rge* I think that she's off pouting about something or other… Shit!  You ran over me!

J0rge: *winces* Remind me never to let you two get behind the wheel of a car.

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha and its affiliates do not, in any way, shape, or form, belong to Landlady and company.  Except for those two, temporarily at least. *J0rge points to Miroku and Sesshy*

Chapter 3: A Friendly Face

"How **did** you get Inu-Yasha to let you stay over the weekend?"  Sesshoumaru and Kagome were curled up on the large couch in the living room, watching a movie.  Kagome found it endlessly amusing that his furniture was so soft that you sank into it.  And bright blue.  Somehow, she would have thought that he would have gone for something dark and leather and none too comfortable.  But then again, Sesshoumaru wasn't one to deny himself any comforts, and he really wasn't into popular fashions either.

But still … "Whatever made you buy a blue couch anyway?"  Though she wasn't looking at him, she could feel him roll his eyes.

"Not this **again**," he sighed and shifted them slightly, so that she was lying up against his chest, with his arms wrapped around her just under her breasts.  "So what did you tell my brother?"

Kagome tilted her head back to rest on his shoulder so she could look up at him.  "Seriously.  Why blue?  I would have thought that you were more of a red person, Shin-chan."

His eyes narrowed playfully.  "I don't trust you when you call me that."

"That's only because I jumped you in public the last time I did."

"You jumped me last night too."  His amber eyes glinted smugly.

"No.  **You** jumped **me**.  There's a difference."

"Perhaps," he conceded.

"So answer my question."

"You first."

Kagome sighed, "Fine, you win.  I told him I had a test on Monday so I needed to stay home to study over the weekend.  And I bribed him with some ramen; he was still to stunned to resist much, so it was pretty easy."

"Do you have a test?"

"No.  Your turn."

It was Sesshoumaru's turn to sigh.  "The brat likes it."

Kagome sat up, interested.  "What brat?"

The phone rang.  Sesshoumaru disentangled himself from Kagome and stood.  Leaning down, he caged Kagome between his arms and kissed her lightly, eyes twinkling.  "I have to get that."  The he was gone, already in the next room before she realized it.

Kagome struggled to sit up, half-stuck in the couch.  "Dammit Sesshou, what brat?!"

***  
  


A few hours later, Kagome was still trying to cajole Sesshoumaru into telling her what he was talking about.  Normally, it wouldn't have taken so long, either Kagome would get what she wanted or Sesshoumaru would have found a way to shut her up.  But her questioning had degenerated into a game of chase, and now Kagome had the demon pinned to the bed, which was quite a dangerous situation to be in.  But she wasn't about to back down now.

"Come on Sesshou, if you have a kid then you have to tell me."  His eyes glinted with a long suppressed thrill of the hunt, though Kagome knew that he would never hurt her.  With a sudden grin, he flipped her over, switching places and caging her with his arms and legs.

"Would it bother you if I did?"

"No.  It's not like I expected you to wait around for me or anything."  Suddenly she wiggled through his arms and skipped away.  "But I would like to know."

The demon flipped over and leaned back on his elbows, watching her intently.  Kagome watched back warily, ready to spring away if he so much as twitched.  After a moment, Sesshoumaru sighed and patted the bed next to him.  Reluctantly, the girl stepped forward and sat down, leaning up against him and closing her eyes.  He wrapped his arms around her and made himself comfortable.  It was about time for a nap anyway.

Kagome opened one eye and glared up at him.  "Well?"

He repressed a smile, keeping his eyes closed.  "Well what?"

With an exasperated sigh, she poked him in the ribs, hard.  Out of reflex, Sesshoumaru caught her hand before she could draw away and flipped them over, pinning her to the bed.  A flash of fear passed through her eyes before she ruthlessly squashed it.  "Do you have a kid or not?" she demanded, to cover for her lapse.

"No."  Ignoring Kagome's spluttering, he flipped back over, dragging her across his chest.  After a moment, she settled down and rearranged herself.  Definitely naptime now.

Suddenly, Kagome pushed herself up slightly so she could look at him.  "So who's 'the brat'?"

Sesshoumaru growled slightly and pushed her back down.  "You'll find out soon enough.  He'll be here later."

***

Sesshoumaru lie awake long after Kagome had dropped off, exhausted from their game of tag.  For some reason, he couldn't forget the split-second flash of fear that she had emitted when he had pinned her down.  Not too long ago, he wouldn't have given it a second thought.  But now … it bothered him, and he couldn't quite figure out why.

In this time, it had always seemed that Kagome trusted him, once she had realized that he was a different person from the one she knew in the past.  But the things that he had done do her, and would do to her had to be hard to forget.  Despite all their time together, she couldn't quite banish her early image of him.

Where is she now, he wondered, in her journey through the past?  Sesshoumaru had never bothered to ask, knowing that it would only lead to questions about the future that he wasn't willing to answer.  It might not be a good idea to inform Kagome of what she would do, for fear of changing the past, and thus, the future.

Perhaps it was time to ask.  It was obvious that their relationship wasn't as stable as he'd thought.  And he wanted to know what else it would have to stand.

But would it survive such a trial?

***

Kagome woke suddenly, apparently for no reason at all.  For a moment, she had to wonder where she was, and why there was a real roof over her head, not the thatched kind of the feudal era.  Feeling a little silly when she figured it out, the girl half sat up, shaking off the groggy feeling from sleeping in the middle of the day.

"Sleep well?"  With a start, Kagome turned in the direction of the voice.  Sesshoumaru was sitting on a chair in the corner, watching her with a blank expression on his face.

She held a hand to her pounding heart.  "Shit, Sesshou, you scared me!  Don't do that!"

Before she realized what was going on, the demon was beside her.  Kagome jumped.  He didn't use his speed very often, but when he did it unnerved her.  Yet she didn't have much time to think of that as he leaned forward, catching her chin and forcing her to look him in the eyes.  "Am I that frightening?" he asked her softly.

Kagome blinked, "Umm, is that a trick question?"

Something unusual flashed in his eyes before he pulled away.  "Never mind."  He rose swiftly and began to walk off.

Kagome was **very** confused.

Nevertheless, she scrambled up and, patting herself to make sure she was fully clothed, ran after him.  "Hey, Sesshou, wait up!"  He stopped, and she nearly ran into him, but settled for flinging her arms around his waist.  Looking up, their eyes met.  Kagome righted herself without taking her eyes from his and grabbed his hand.  "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

For a moment, he said nothing, simply looked down at her with his trademark blank expression.  Then her smiled softly – which really scared Kagome – and brushed her cheek.  "It's nothing," he said.

"But…"  He cut her off with a finger to her lips.

"He's here."  Another grin.  Kagome was beginning to get nervous.

"Who?"

Sesshoumaru leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before whispering conspiratorially.  "The brat."

The doorbell rang.

Kagome jumped, clutching Sesshoumaru's arm.  "How did you … wait … never mind."  She sighed; it was easy to forget that he was a demon, sometimes anyway.  "I'm gonna go brush my hair.  I'll be right back."  He nodded and headed to let their guest up.

Kagome ran her fingers through her black locks while she searched for her hairbrush.  Sesshoumaru was really acting odd.  It wasn't like him to ask questions that he didn't want the answer to.  Finding the brush, she shrugged it off.  They had a guest now, so she would have to wonder about it later.

Hearing voices in the living room, Kagome headed in that direction.  There was no sense in wondering whom this mysterious person who had picked out Sesshoumaru's couch was, but she couldn't help herself.  He must have been someone to have an effect on the demon.  Someone said her name, and she stopped just outside the door leading to the living room, listening.

"Stop fidgeting," Sesshoumaru was saying.  He sounded somewhat amused, though partially annoyed.  "She'll be here in a moment."

A new voice sighed, and said, "I really don't think she's going to recognize me."

_Recognize?_ Kagome thought.  _Why would Sesshoumaru know someone that I would recognize?  Unless…_

Kagome ticked off the people she knew from the feudal era.  It couldn't be Miroku or Sango.  Inu-Yasha had lived through old age and died long ago.  He didn't sound anything like Kouga.  So, that only left…

Kagome flung open the door.  Sure enough, their visitor had a bright shock of red-orange hair.

"Shippou!"  He grinned, and Kagome flung herself at the kitsune, hugging him tightly.  When she released him she asked, "How long have you been here?"

He shrugged, "Umm, five hundred years?  Give or take."  Kagome blinked, only now taking the time to look him over.  Instead of the child that he had been, Shippou had grown up, and looked to be in his mid twenties.  His hair had been cut short, and he wore a pair of baggy jeans and a tee shirt.

Upon registering what he had said, Kagome turned to Sesshoumaru with her hands on her hips.  "And what do you have to say for yourself, huh?"

The dog demon smirked at her.  "Surprise?"

"Ohh!  You!"  Sesshoumaru caught Kagome's hands before they could swing his way and turned her around so that her back was pressed to his chest and her arms were crossed in front of her, their hands still entwined.  Shippou grinned at them as Kagome looked up and stuck out her tongue at Sesshoumaru.

Faking a mock sigh of despair, Shippou said, "You two…"  Kagome blushed slightly, but didn't look overly ashamed.

"I'm hungry," she announced suddenly.

"You're always hungry," Sesshoumaru noted.  Kagome kicked him.  "How about we all go out to dinner, so you two can catch up?" he continued without blinking.  "We can even bring that odd family of yours."

Her eyes lit up and she turned towards Shippou.  "That would be great!  Mom would just love to meet you Shippou!"  Try as she might, Kagome couldn't really argue with Sesshoumaru's description of her family.  He had met them after all, so he would know.  And it looked like Shippou would find out soon.

***

Hi Rin-Chan!

Would you believe that little Shippou is all grown up and living in my time?  I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised, after all, he is a demon and younger than Sesshoumaru, not to mention that his kitsune skills would help him blend in a lot better.  But I guess I never really thought that I would run into anyone else that I knew here.

So Mom finally got to meet Shippou.  Fortunately for him, he doesn't have a tail anymore for her to mess with.  Souta was a little upset that Shippou isn't his age.  Called me a liar.  Little twit.  Grandpa liked him though, but I think that he wants us to get married or something, he used to get the same look when he saw Houjo and me together.  And, granted, Shippou is cute and all, but he's not Sesshoumaru.

Oh yea, Shippou works for Sesshou.  If that isn't irony, then I don't know what is.  Even weirder, is that they actually get along.  Sesshou treats him like a little brother.  I'm still trying to figure out what exactly Shippou does.  When I asked, he said he was a 'special investigator', so I'm not sure I really want to know.

Speaking of the business, I said that I would talk about how Sesshou got it.  I think I mentioned that he's the CEO of Nippon Electronics, which has been around for a while.  As it turns out, Sesshou saw the money in emerging technology, and started the company sometime after WWI.  Apparently, he's been pretending to be his son for three generations, and 'inheriting' the business each time the previous owner dies.  Not surprisingly, he makes as little public appearances as possible, and when he does have to, Shippou can put an illusion spell on him to make him look just a little different from his previous incarnation, or older, or whatever is necessary.  This is also why his name has changed; he told me that he takes on a new name every 50 years, since he doesn't like pretending to be old.

Right now, his story is that his father is very sick, so Matsuda Shinzui is in the process of taking over the business.  Needless to say, the process is going very smoothly.

So there it is, Sesshou's business history.  And you have to admit that he's done quite well; after all, he is one of the richest men in Japan.

Well, that's about it for me tonight, Rin-Chan.  I'm off to jump Sesshou since I have to go back to the feudal era in a few days.

Ja!

LL: *sniffles*

B0b: Where the hell have you been?  J0rge's been looking for you since this chapter started.

LL: *sob*

B0b: *sighs* Fine, I'll bite.  What's the matter?

LL: It's official.  I've lost complete control of my stories!  I didn't mean for this chapter to be so depressing; it was supposed to be all happy and mostly pointless and now it's not!

B0b: That's not my fault.

LL: I know it's not your fault because you never do anything.  *stands up*  But I'm going to find out just what the hell is going on!  And you're coming with me! *grabs B0b and runs off*

B0b: Ack!

Promises Fans: I got nominated for Best AU and Best Angst/Drama on A Single Spark, so go vote for me, please!  


	5. Running From the Past

J0rge: Where's LL?

*Sesshy and Miroku are playing video games*

Sesshy: I ate her.  *blinks*  Wait a min… is it just me, or is this some kind of weird repeat of the last AN?

Miroku: Hey, look at this! *pokes a comatose LL* Is she dead?

Sesshy: *looking over Miroku's shoulder* Can we go home now?

*LL somehow reaches around Miroku in her sleep and grabs Sesshy like he is an oversized teddy, curling up again*

Sesshy: Ack!  Save me!

Miroku: You know, she's kinda cute when she's sleeping.

J0rge: Aww, poor LL.  She's been really busy lately, and then she got sick and was upchucking and she'll never be able to eat chicken again.

Sesshy and Miroku: Gross.

LL: You're telling me.

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha and stuff don't belong to us. *yawn*

Chapter 4: Running from the Past

"Mom, I'm home!"

Higurashi-san appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel.  "Did you have a good day dear?"

"It was all right," Kagome replied as she headed toward the stairs.  She wanted to change before Inu-Yasha came to annoy her into going back down the well, and perhaps she would even have time for a bath.

Her mother stopped her with her next comment.  "Inu-Yasha came by to see you a little while ago…"  Kagome froze.  He wasn't on the way to school to go get her was he?  A vivid image of a very pissed off Inu-Yasha v. her school entered her brain and she shuddered.  Her mother smiled, "Don't worry dear, he's in the kitchen."

The kitchen?  What could her mother have said to convince Inu-Yasha to stay?  More importantly, what did she do?  For a moment, Kagome sort of felt sorry for the hanyou if he had gone up against her mother.  Hesitantly, she peeked around the doorframe into the kitchen, and had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

Inu-Yasha was pigging out on a huge pot of ramen.  Ducking out of the doorway, Kagome dissolved into helpless giggles.

"Good one Mom," she managed to gasp out eventually.

Inu-Yasha appeared suddenly, apparently thinking that something was wrong.  When Kagome caught sight of him, she burst out laughing again, unable to speak.  The hanyou frowned and poked her with his toe.  "What's wrong with you woman?  Hurry up, we've got shards to find."

She sat up with some difficulty, waving her hand as she tried to stop laughing.  "Let me change; I'll be just a minute.  Why don't you go finish your ramen?"  Still giggling, the girl headed up the stairs to get ready.

"But I'm done!"  Inu-Yasha called after her, and it was all that Kagome could do to get up the stairs without laughing so hard that she fell down them.

***

"I still don't see what's so funny about it," Inu-Yasha said glumly while the rest of their group giggled at Kagome's story.

"It's just that … well, it's so like you, Inu-Yasha," Kagome explained while she grinned.

"She means you're a pig," Miroku pointed out.  Inu-Yasha lunged at the unfortunate monk, who was at least smart enough to dodge.

Kagome sighed.  "Inu-Yasha, stop trying to kill Miroku."  Miroku grinned triumphantly at the hanyou.  "And Miroku, stop teasing Inu-Yasha."  Now it was Inu-Yasha's turn to gloat, while the monk frowned.  Kagome shared a long-suffering look with Sango, and the two women shook their heads slightly.  Boys…

Kagome yawned.  "I'm going to bed," she announced, picking up an already sleeping Shippou and wandering off towards her room.

Within moments, Inu-Yasha appeared next to her.  "Had a hard day?"

"Yea," Kagome sighed, "My Physics teacher decided to give us a pop quiz…" She trailed off suddenly as she realized exactly what Inu-Yasha had said.  Was he actually worried about her?  "Umm, Inu, are you feeling all right?"

He blinked.  "Sure, why?"  Then he grinned, "Oh.  I'm just making sure that you aren't about to collapse.  I need my shard detector fully functional for tomorrow."

"YOU JERK!"

Poor Shippou.  It had to be an upsetting experience to wake up flying through the air.  And Inu-Yasha had such a hard head, so it surely wasn't pleasant to be hurled into his skull.  But Kagome wasn't really at fault; Shippou had been the only thing on hand.

Besides, he had really good reflexes.  The very confused fox flipped as soon as he bounced off of Inu-Yasha's head and landed back in Kagome's arms, wide-eyed and heart pounding.  Kagome clutched him reassuringly while glaring at Inu-Yasha, causing the kitsune to conclude that whatever had happened was the hanyou's fault.  Not that there was really a choice, since – of course – Kagome could do no wrong.

The girl huffed and turned away entering her room and getting ready for bed.  Shippou snuggled down into her arms, wondering what Inu-Yasha had done **this** time.

***

CLACK!

Five hundred years away from Inu-Yasha's sore head, Shippou grinned at his perfect break.  Humans may have been very odd creatures – as Sesshoumaru was always saying – but they sure came up with some really cool games.  Take pool for example, who would have thought that one could have so much fun with some balls and a stick.  Granted, baseball and golf were a little wonked, but pool was really fun.

"Are you sure you don't want to play?" the kitsune asked.

Sesshoumaru eyed the table with some distain.  "I think I'll pass."

"Oh come on, Matsuda-sama.  It's a really fun game.  Full of challenges and strategy."

The other demon snorted.  "Igo is full of challenges and strategy.  **That** is little skill and a lot of luck."  Shippou shrugged and continued to play on his own.  He hadn't really expected to convince Sesshoumaru, but it was fun to try, mostly because it annoyed him.  Granted, he seemed more annoyed than usual.

Shippou lined up a shot.  "What's wrong?"

"Who said that anything is wrong?" the older demon snorted.

Shippou shrugged, and circled the pool table, not taking his eyes off of his game.  "No one.  You just seem a little jumpy."  He shot, and finally looked up.  "Not to mention you're drinking."

Sesshoumaru snorted again and finished his drink, setting it down on a nearby small table.  "So?"

"You never drink."  Shippou leaned against his cue and looked him over.  "You never come here either.  I thought that you didn't like associating with the common folk."

"There's no one here," Sesshoumaru pointed out.  It was true, the pool hall was almost empty, but considering that it was still early afternoon, it wasn't too surprising.  "Besides, you said that you had some information for me."

"Yea, but you usually have me come to you."

"I was bored."  Shippou shrugged, having no choice but to accept that.  Not that he really believe that boredom was the entire reason that Sesshoumaru had come all this way, but there was no arguing with him when he got that tone.

"So," Shippou said, "You're sure you don't want to play?"

***

Kagome woke up slowly; dully realizing that all that tea she'd had with dinner had probably been a bad idea.  With a yawn, she extracted herself from Shippou's grasp and went to relieve herself.

She was so tired; these past few weeks had been hell.  After telling Kaede about her experience with the demon that she had killed, the old woman had decided that it was past time for Kagome to have some formal training.  No one had been too happy with the idea.  Inu-Yasha was pissed since they couldn't go look for shards, and Kagome was beginning to realize that Kaede wasn't the nice old lady that she had thought, but the taskmaster from hell.  Sango was getting ready to kill Miroku, who had nothing to distract him and was taking it out on her.  Miroku was annoyed that he wasn't getting any – though he shouldn't have been too surprised.  And Shippou was just plain bored since he wasn't allowed to play with Kagome.

Fortunately for everyone, Kagome was going home in a few days, and when she came back they would resume their shard hunt.  With another yawn, Kagome headed back to the hut, checking the position of the moon so that she could see how much time she had left to sleep.  It was almost dawn, but no one said that she had to get up with the sun.

Before she realized what was going on, the sky spun past very quickly and something wrapped itself around her neck.  It took her a moment to realize that it was a hand, yet she didn't panic, for she noticed a few strands of silver hair, something that she was used to associating with comfort.  Another hand grabbed a wrist and twisted her arm behind her, jolting Kagome back into reality.

_Shit!  I'm in the past; Sesshou is still evil!_

Now she panicked.

Struggling violently, she tried to kick the demon, or at least scream for Inu-Yasha.  But the demon lord merely tightened his grip on her throat, threatening to break her windpipe.  "Stop that, girl," he growled, "I'm not going to kill you … yet."  He waited for a moment after Kagome stopped struggling, then slowly released her throat and turned her so that he could look her in the eye.  His disgust at touching a human was apparent, even through his emotionless façade.  Tears formed in Kagome's eyes, but nonetheless she smiled, wondering how he would react if he knew what would happen in five hundred years.

A frown flickered across his face.  "What is so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," Kagome teased, once again partially forgetting that this was the old Sesshoumaru.  But he got just that tone when he was annoyed, even in the future, and she couldn't help it.

He hit her.  And Kagome went flying.  Before she could move or even gather her wits about her, he was next to her, pinning her to the ground by her shoulders.  Pain lanced through her cheek, where she was sure a bruise was forming, and her back, which was pressed against a rock.  Suddenly, Kagome was more afraid of the Western Lord than she had ever been.  She was sure that she was about to die.

Looking up into his eyes, which were beginning to turn red, a plan formed in her mind.  It might not work, but right now, it was the only choice she had.

Arching her back as best she could, Kagome pressed her lips to the demon's.

***

Sesshoumaru watched the sun rise with anxiousness.  In about thirty minutes, Kagome would come shooting through that well of hers, and he wasn't entirely sure that she would be too happy to see him.  In fact, he was pretty sure that she wouldn't.

And yet, he couldn't just sit by and let her slip away.  Not for something stupid that he had done for an obsession that was now obsolete.  He eyed the Tetsusaiga, which hung innocently on his wall.  Five hundred years, and he still couldn't touch the thing.   Yet it no longer mattered, for true power was no longer something that the sword could provide.  He had all the power that he wanted now; he had everything that he wanted now.

And he wasn't about to lose Kagome without a fight.

Standing suddenly, Sesshoumaru realized that he had made his decision.  He had to go see her.  Without a thought, he opened the window.  Flying would be faster, and humans were more likely to blame hallucinations than to admit that they saw someone floating above them.  If they saw him, Sesshoumaru didn't intend to waste any time.

Not bothering to knock on the door, the demon went straight to the well to wait for Kagome.

***

He flung himself away from her almost immediately.  Not exactly the reaction she had been expecting, but it worked.  Kagome scrambled away from him and ran.  Granted, that probably hadn't been the smartest action, considering the Western Lord's love of the hunt, but she wasn't exactly thinking clearly in the first place.

In fact, it was amazing that she made it as far as she did.  When Sesshoumaru caught up to her, she could see the well.

"Shit," she hissed, putting on an extra burst of speed.  But it did her no good, the demon leapt and pinned her to the well, causing her head to crack painfully against the wood.  She shut her eyes tightly, sure that any chance she'd had of surviving this encounter was shot with that kiss.

But the expected deathblow didn't come, and after a moment, Kagome cracked open an eye and glanced anxiously at the demon.  He was watching her with an odd expression; if she hadn't known better, she would have said he was confused.  Not that she really blamed him.

So, just for the hell of it, she grinned.  Maybe, if she could throw him off balance enough, she would be able to escape through the well and hope that he couldn't follow her.  Overpowering him wasn't an option, so she had to work with what she had.

His grip on her loosened fractionally, and Kagome kicked out instantly, leaping up and scrambling over the edge of the well.  Seconds later, the demon growled, and leapt after her.

***

Kagome sat up with a wince, rubbing her head where she had landed on it.  "Oww," she muttered to herself as she pulled herself up the ladder.  Fortunately, it appeared that Sesshoumaru hadn't been able to follow her.  Pulling herself over the edge of the well, Kagome almost fell back down again.

He was waiting for her.

It took a few moments to register that this Sesshoumaru was dressed in modern day clothes, and not the one from the past at all.  He watched her with those yellow eyes that had just flashed malevolently at her on the other side of the well.  But he didn't move to help her, liked she'd expected, and Kagome wasn't quite sure she wanted him to either.

***

He watched her eyes widen when she noticed him standing there and didn't miss the hint of fear that flashed through those blue orbs.  But though he wanted to rush over and find some way to wash that pale expression off of her face, he held back.  Kagome was no doubt none to happy with him at the moment, and he had to let her make a choice now.

After a moment, she dragged herself over the edge of the well, landing in an undignified pile on the ground.  Sesshoumaru couldn't stop himself; he stepped forward and reached out a hand to help her up.  She flinched when his fingers brushed her skin, and he froze, drawing away.

She looked up at him, her hair partially obscuring her face, and sniffed.  "Sesshou?" she pleaded.  He nodded slightly, holding out his hand again.  She grabbed it, and suddenly threw herself at him, releasing his hand to wrap her arms around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder.  Relieved, the demon slipped his arms around her as well and held her while she cried.

Igo: known as Go in America, a game kind of like chess, where the object is to place stones and capture more territory than your opponent

LL: *sigh* All nice and depressing. *pats Sesshy and Miroku*

B0b: You look like you're feeling better.

LL: *turns green and runs to the bathroom*

*bathroom sink beans B0b in the head*

LL: You just had to mention that didn't you!


End file.
